ABOUT US

Do you find yourself day dreaming about your next family holiday? Do you love the feeling of getting away from the everyday and experiencing new things?

We totally get it and for more than 20 years we have been seeking out adventures, near and far. For us there is nothing quite like the thrill of stepping off a plane in a foreign country, trying different foods, experiencing new cultures and exploring the great outdoors.

We want to share this passion with you and through our practical travel tips and advice we hope to inspire and help you plan your next family adventure!

We are Rachel and Matt and together we have been to 55 countries on 6 continents. Our children Amelie and Harvey have visited 32 of these countries with us. We are passionate about affordable independent family travel and whether it is for a weekend, week, month or a year, we want to encourage and support you to seek out new adventures and experience the joy of travelling as a family.

Why? Not only does family travel offer the chance to create incredible shared life long memories, we truly believe travel offers our kids (and us) life changing experiences that will broaden their minds and shape them into environmentally aware, culturally sensitive and politically engaged adults.

So where did it start for us?

When Matt and I were in our twenties we ditched our jobs, twice, to backpack around the world. Our families thought we were mad. Many of our friends thought so too. What about saving for a house? What about getting married and starting a family? After a tiny taste of travel in our early twenties with our work we wanted to see more!

Our first trip was to Europe where we lived, worked and travelled for 12 months. Our second trip was to the Americas, working in the ski fields of British Colombia for 3 months before backpacking through South and Central America for 9 months. Both trips were awe-inspiring, life changing and deepened our passion for experiencing unique and special places the world over.

Then in our 30s we had kids and we have to admit our adventures slowed right down for a while. To be honest we found being new parents really hard. We had babies who didn’t sleep, who hated being in the car for any period of time and who didn’t cope well with change. We were exhausted just living our daily lives and struggled to venture far from home. So for a few years we hunkered down.

Was it the right thing to do? Who knows. We deeply missed travelling but it just didn’t seem possible for us. I have nothing but admiration for families who travel with small children and for many it is absolutely possible. Every family and child is unique. For us it meant stopping for a while. We knew it wouldn’t be forever so we focused on exploring places close to home for a few years.

When the kids were 5 and 3 we finally found the courage to book a holiday to Bali. In the weeks leading up to the trip we wondered if the kids would sleep okay? How would we survive the flight? What if they get sick? What if they didn’t like the local food? We boarded the plane with a mix of trepidation and excitement.

The good news is we all survived!! And it wasn’t too hard. In fact it was an incredible experience. For the first time we saw a foreign country through the eyes of our children and it was so exciting! Our passion for travel was rekindled and we felt it was possible to dream big again.

Time for a change

After a few more years of short trips slotted in around work and school we were desperate to experience the freedom to travel like we had in our twenties; with a backpack, a guidebook and a whole lot of time. In 2017 we packed up our lives, left our jobs, rented our house, sold the car and many of our belongings and set off on a year long adventure around the world. Our kids were 10 and 8 years old. Once again I think many of our friends thought we were crazy.